February 14 Notes.docx

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School

University of Alberta

Department

Psychology

Course

PSYCO239

Professor

Angela Brkich

Semester

Winter

Description

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 101B Lecture Notes February 14
BUDDHISM
triple jewels
buddha
dharma
sangha
buddha is not a given name, but an attribution
SETTING THE WHEEL IN MOTION
out of compassion, he goes out to find people to teach.
he finds 5 shamanatras in the deer park.
he teaches them the first SUTRA. REMEMBER sutra.
it is called SETTING IN MOTION THE WHEEL OF THE DHARMA, commonly
known as the wheel turning sermon. it is believed that this
sermon set the wheel in motion.
he tells them to begin a life of moderation between asceticism
and indulgence. - THE MIDDLE WAY.
he instructs them in
THE FOUR NOBLE TURTHS
and the
EIGHTFOLD PATH
to overcome suffering. these first five become known as the STREAM ENTERERS. he ordains
them as his first five disciples and sends them out to teach. he
goes from having five to sixty followers very quickly.
he then travels for forty five years teaching and gaining
disciples. little known about this time.
THE DISCOURSE OF THE GREAT DECEASE
as he nears eighty, he becomes very weak and falls ill. some say
because of a poorly prepared pork meal. some say he is poisoned.
some say natural causes.
when he became ill, his disciples had many questions about the
SANGHA (their community).
he says he will not appoint a successor, cause he was never
their leader.
they were to be self reliant, follow the dharma and monastic
rules he established.
at the moment of his death he is said to have experienced
PARINIRVANA - he reaches the end of the cycle of rebirth, his
suffering ceases completely, he is perfectly happy. impossible
to understand. remember for test. escapes samsara
THE SACRED GEM: THE DHARMA
we see the crystallization of buddhism with the move to doctrine.
the dharma is believed to hold th etruth's of the buddha's
teaching.
buddhism's use of dharma is MUCH BROADER than the Hindu usage.
this term can be used to refer to the religion in general.
dharma is teachings that are firm and eternal truth.
these truths include the laws of nature, conduct, morality, etc there are differnet paths to enlightenment: different for the
three branches, but these truths are important for all three
groups.
the center of the dharma are the four noble truths and the
eightfold path.
super important to understand the four noble truths and
eightfold paths for the final exam
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
1. NOBLE TRUTH OF SUFFERING: life is suffering - "dukha", no
living person can escape DUKHA. birth, sickness, senility,
and death, remember chariot ride: sick guy, old suffering
guy, dead guy. dukha also includes a wide variety of things
like pain and stress etc. the buddha saw this as a serious
ongoing problem, life after life. the nature of human
beings is constituted in such a way that suffering is
completely unnavoidable. three types of suffering.
2. NOBLE TRUTH OF ORIGIN: how and why suffering comes about.
all suffering is caused by TRSNA (often translated as
desire, but the sanskrit word only refers to negative
desires and addictions, so the best translation is
CRAVING). three forms of craving: sensual pleasure; desire
for existence; inversion of desire (trying to push yourself
away from things you don't like, avoidance).
3. NOBLE TRUTH OF CESSATION: when TRSNA/CRAVING is removed,
suffering will cease. Being free of suffering is known as
NIRVANA, which is the supreme goal of the buddhist path.
NIRVANA is literally translated as BLOWING OUT (usually
described as blowing out a candle).
4. NOBLE TRUTH OF THE EIGHTFOLD PATH: this path leads to the
end of suffering and nirvana. (especially inportant for
teravada buddhists). the end of craving is